RBI official, JDS leader land in CBI net

CBI has arrested an RBI official and a JDS leader K C Veerendra, who is also a casino owner, in connection with separate cases relating to alleged illegal conversion of currency post-demonetisation.

Reserve Bank of India official K Michael, posted here, was arrested by CBI while he was allegedly trying to convert Rs 1.51 crore of old currency notes. CBI sources said Michael, a senior special assistant at RBI, was arrested last week. The agency has also arrested Veerendra in a separate case relating to seizure of Rs 5.70 crore of new currency from the bathroom of the casino owner by the Income Tax department.

“We have arrested K C Veerendra. He was arrested in Hubballi on December 10 and brought to Bengaluru the following day and produced before the CBI court. He is in our custody for six days,” a top CBI official told PTI today.

 Besides Veerendra, midddlemen Thipeswamy and Venkatesh, residents of Chitradurga districts of Karnataka, and unknown officials of four banks – State Bank of India, State Bank of Mysore, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra have also been named in the FIR in this case.

The bank officials in a criminal conspiracy with Veerendra exchanged Rs 5.76 crore of demonetised notes with the new currency of Rs 2000 and Rs 500 denomination during November and Decemeber 2016, the CBI FIR alleged.

The FIR alleged that the agency received a source information that officials of SBI, SBM, ICICI, Kotak Mahindra and other banks in and around Challekere in Chitradurga district had entered into criminal conspiracy with Veerendra, Thipeswamy and Venkatesh and other middlemen to “dishonestly and fraudulently” facilitate exchange of Rs 5.76 crore of old currency notes which ceased to be legal tender on November 8.